Should I go to my panel meeting?

If you can, you should always attend the panel meeting because, although you may be allowed to submit a written statement instead, it may affect how successful the outcome is for you if you don’t.

Meeting with the University in person means they can discuss your work with you, and have a better understanding of the situation and how you wrote your work. It’s a good opportunity to explain your perspective in this setting as it’s more effective than written communication.

We can arrange a preparation meeting with you, so please email us or use our booking form.

How can I prepare for my meeting?

To prepare for your meeting you could think about how you wrote your work, what your process for finding and using sources was, and how you produced the final document.

There is also a list of questions that are likely to be asked, and we would recommend considering how you might answer these before the panel. This is not an exhaustive list, so please be aware that other questions might be asked. As an example, please see here for examples of what could be asked at a Plagiarism meeting.

At the end of the meeting, you can tell the panel anything else that is relevant to the situation. For example, steps you have taken to address the issue in the future or any extra context. So, it is good to prepare for this before you have your meeting.

What happens in the meeting?

Meetings are usually 20-30 minutes long and will be attended by three to four members of staff. The person chairing the meeting will ask you the questions, so you will mostly be speaking to them. We would expect there to be at least one staff member from your unit or with expertise in that field of study, as well as someone taking notes of the meeting.

You can bring a friend, adviser, or other representative to the meeting. If you bring someone it won’t affect how the panel view you or your situation – it is entirely about what will make you feel the most comfortable and able to answer their questions. If you would like one of our advisers to attend please ask us – we will do our best to do so, but it may depend on availability.

One of the most important parts of this is for you to remain calm – all the panel needs is your answers, so be confident in yourself!

What if I have Exceptional Circumstances?

If you had Exceptional Circumstances that affected you these could be raised in the meeting, but the Academic Misconduct panel cannot consider them. Instead, you would need to follow the EC process and submit an EC form if you haven’t. If you have any questions, talk to us.

When will I find out my meeting outcome?

The panel will not usually tell you what the outcome will be at this meeting. They will discuss the case afterwards and decide on their recommendations . Usually a week later, the panel will send you notes from the meeting which highlight what was discussed and their recommendations. A final decision won’t be made until the exam board has reviewed this. You will be asked to confirm that the record is accurate.

What should I do if I don’t agree with the Exam Board’s decision?

When you have received the Faculty Exam Board decision you will have the right to appeal against it. That is a process that we can support you with, and you can read more about it on our appeals webpage.

The University Regulations explain all the possible outcomes but we find that the most common outcomes are:

• No penalty, but the plagiarism is recorded on your file while you are at university in case of any future issues.
• Resubmitting the work for a capped or an uncapped mark.
• Being given a mark reduction penalty.

If you’re not sure what the recommendation means or how it might impact you – please send us a copy of the meeting notes and any questions that you have. We can help you understand and explain what might happen next.

Plagiarism

Plagiarism is the use of someone else's work, ideas, or words without giving appropriate credit. This could be through not citing or referencing a source correctly, not acknowledging where the idea came from, poor paraphrasing, or copying text directly into your work. Plagiarism can be intentional or unintentional – so it is really important to know the University’s rules and expectations, and referencing requirements.

There is specific advice available about plagiarism and how to avoid it from Library Services, the Study Skills Service, and within your academic school.

Download the video script

How is Plagiarism detected?

All pieces of work that you submit to the University are run through Turnitin. This software creates a report which can detect whether anything in your work matches another source exactly.

Within the report, an ‘overall similarity percentage’ can indicate that plagiarism may be present. We recommend taking a look at this and thinking about how this came to be and what parts of your work have been highlighted.

Turnitin is not the only way the University can detect plagiarism. Markers can also flag concerns about your work.

We have outlined some example questions that you might be asked in a meeting:

What could I be asked in a Plagiarism Meeting?

Cheating

If you’re being investigated for academic misconduct other than plagiarism, it will likely be considered a form of cheating. Cases of alleged cheating will be referred to an academic misconduct panel – as described above. This can include:

Exam cheating

This is when the rules of the assessment aren’t followed. For example, if you access resources or texts during closed book exams, if you turn your exam paper over early, or if you use your phone during an exam.

Collusion

Collusion is when you work together with another student on an assessment that should be done independently. The University has guidance that explains the difference between studying together co-operatively and when it becomes collusion.

If you have shared notes or you have discussed your work with others you should make sure you have written your assessment in your own words. If the same phrasing is used in multiple students’ assessments, then it may be flagged by the marker as possible collusion.

The University considers sharing your work with others in the same way as using someone else's work, and they are treated with the same level of severity.

Contract cheating & AI

Contract cheating is when a third party writes your assessment and you submit it as your own work. Engaging someone, or something, else to create the work on your behalf is considered a pre-meditated action and is treated very seriously by the University. This can include paying someone to write your assignment and it also includes using AI for part, or all, of the assessment.

There is a wide range of online AI tools that might look like they can help with your studies – but the University has strict rules about what is and isn’t allowed. This means that if you’re found to have used AI for your assessment you will be investigated for academic misconduct and will face an Academic Misconduct Panel and may receive a penalty.

If the University suspects that you’ve used AI they can invite you to an informal Investigation Meeting, where you’ll need to present all of your research and the work that went into your assessment and/or exam. An outcome of this panel could also be a referral to attend an Academic Misconduct Panel. If you’re invited to either one of these meetings, please book an appointment with us to find out more.

Generating Text

It is important to remember that submitting text created by AI tools, such as Chat GPT is contract cheating. Although it can feel tempting to use this can hugely affect the learning process, limiting the knowledge gained and your ability to develop academic and writing skills.

There are many ways in which AI-generated text will be identified by the University, and there are often mistakes in the writing as many academic sources are behind paywalls. This means that the work produced by AI will be incorrect or inaccurate, and the University will know that.

Translation tools

We know that sometimes students write in a different language and then translate the text into English. This is classed as contract cheating because the English text wasn’t written by the student submitting the work. The University expects that students will write in English, and the use of translation tool can be identified and flagged as the use of AI when it is submitted.

You might miss a deeper understanding of the concepts and language used in that area of study if you use translation tools. It’s very important that you know and understand all of the definitions, phrases, and ideas you use in your assessments.

Paraphrasing tools

Sometimes, you may feel pressure to write in a particular way that sounds ‘academic’. Perhaps you feel like others are writing in a style that you wish you could Paraphrasing tools or using generative AI like ChatGPT to rewrite your words may sound tempting – but it means the work you submit hasn’t been written by you, in your voice.

The University’s AI checker can spot the use of paraphrasing tools and won’t know whether you used it to rewrite one sentence or the entire piece of work.

Other ways of getting help

• Do you need more time to write the assignment? Apply for an extension request.
• Worried about your writing skills? Head to a Study Skills workshop or 121 tutorial for help with your writing skills.
• Not sure about the concepts/topics – Speak to your unit teacher/director or seminar leader.
• Chat to us at bristolsu-advice@bristol.ac.uk if you have any questions about Academic Misconduct using our enquiry form or meeting booking form.